Kinetic Energy Of A Five-Car Class 801 Train
The standard argument against the bi-mode Class 800 train, was that it would be lugging heavy diesel engines around the country wasting energy.
The Class 801 train is the all-electric version of the Hitachi train.
- Wikipedia says each coach weighs 41 tonnes.
- An empty five car train will therefore weigh 205 tonnes.
- A five-car train seats 315 passengers.
- If each passenger with baggage, bikes and buggies weighs 90 Kg, this mean they weigh 28.35 tonnes.
- So the train has a weight of 233.35 tonnes.
- The train is travelling at 125 mph.
Putting these figurea into Omni’s Kinetic Engine Calculator gives a kinetic energy of 101.2 kWh.
Five-car Class 801 trains have one underfloor MTU 12V 1600 R80L diesel engine, which weigh seven tonnes, whereas the bi-mode Class 800 trains have three.
The engines have a rating pf 700 kW in the Class 802 trains and are derated to 560 kW in the other two classes.
So adding engines and repeating the calculation gives.
- One engine – 104.2 kWh
- Two engines – 107.2 kWh
- Three engines – 110.3 kWh
To accelerate a train with three engines to 125 mph will need an extra six kWh compared to a train with only one engine.
There will be a small acceleration penalty. But as three engines have a total power of 1,680 kW (Class 800) or 2,100 kW (Class 802), the penalty would be measured in seconds.
When the train is at the cruising speed of 125 mph, the only difference will be a two tonne difference in axle loading on some axles.
All Class 80x trains will have to overcome the same air resistance and provide similar hotel power., so I’m fairly certain, that all trains will consume very similar amounts of power in the cruise.
Power Comparison With An InterCity 125
Each Class 43 power car of an InterCity 125 has a single diesel engine rated at 1,700 kW.
Divide this by three and you get 566.7 kW
The de-rated MTU diesel engines in the Class 800 train are rated at 560 kW.
So did Hitachi look at the power of half an InterCity 125, feel that they could put diesel engines in three cars of a five-car train and then size the engines to get InterCity 125 power, with two trains working as a pair.
All they would then need to do is to design the cars of the new train to have aerodynamics, dynamics, performance and power usage as good or better than a forty-year-old train.
As they knew that the InterCity 125 had the capabilities needed for the routes, it would mean that their new train would perform, as required.
And if they needed more power for some routes, there was a 700 kW engine available. Great Western Railway did need some more powerful trains and ordered thirty-six extra Class 802 trains with the larger engine.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Japanese have been showing tremendous respect to the InterCity 125.
Conclusion
It really is extraordinary, that the installed power of two five-car Class 800 trains, is little different to that of an InterCity 125.
The vindication is that both trains work well.
Battersea Power Station To Outshine Typical Tourist Attraction Sites In The UK
The title of this post is the same as this article in the New Straits Times.
This is the first paragraph.
Malaysia-owned Battersea Power Station project is expected to outshine many prime property developments in London after seeing a 36 per cent capital appreciation for units offered under its first phase.
The article goes on to give an interesting view on how Malaysian investors and tourists see London.
On Tourism
This is a paragraph.
It is expected that when it opens, 40 million people will visit Battersea Power Station annually.
That is around 109,000 visitors for every day of the year.
Will the Northern Line Extension and the roads cope?
On Investment
This is two paragraphs.
“London is never going to be cheap. Those who wanted to invest, better do it now. A lot of people from overseas have already started investing in London,” he added.
Mason said London would still remain attractive place for investors globally due to its higher capital returns for the property sector.
Londoners like me, don’t look on their City as an investment, but as an exciting and fulfilling place to live.
How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?
In an article in the October 2017 Edition of Modern Railways, which is entitled Celling England By The Pound, Ian Walmsley says this in relation to trains running on the Uckfield Branch, which is not very challenging.
A modern EMU needs between 3 and 5 kWh per vehicle mile for this sort of service.
Can I get any other figures for running at 125 mph, that agree or disagree with these figures?
Class 801 Train
I have found this on this page on the RailUKForums web site.
A 130m Electric IEP Unit on a journey from Kings Cross to Newcastle under the conditions defined in Annex B shall consume no more than 4600kWh.
This is a Class 801 train.
- It has five cars.
- Kings Cross to Newcastle is 268.6 miles.
- Most of this journey will be at 125 mph.
- The trains have regenerative braking.
- I don’t know how many stops are included
This gives a usage figure of 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile.
InterCity 125
Note that the Class 43 power cars of the InterCity 125 (HST) put 1,300 kW to the rail and have a 1,700 kW engine. Two of these powerful beasts giving out a total of 3,400 kW,, can sustain a ten-car train (two power cars and eight passenger cars) at 125 mph.
In the roughly thirty seconds, it would take to cover a mile, an HST could use 3400/120 kWh or 28.3 kWh.
Counting the locomotives as a car and dividing by ten gives 2.83 kWh per vehicle mile.
This is actually a maximum figure, as the driver could throttle-back if required.
This figure is not out of line with the 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile for a Class 801 train, that I stated earlier.
The force was with Terry Miller and his team.
Class 222 Train
The Class 222 trains have one 580 kW engine in each car.
In the thirty seconds, it would take to cover a mile, a Class 222 train would use 580/120 or 4.83 kWh per vehicle mile.
Again this must be a maximum figure.
Class 170 Train
The Class 170 train is a 100 mph train with a 315 kW engine in each car.
In the thirty-six seconds, it would take to cover a mile at 100 mph, a Class 170 train would use 315/100 or 3.15 kWh per vehicle mile.
Again this must be a maximum figure.
Conversion Of 125 mph Figures to 100 mph Figures.
The resistance of any vehicle goes up with the square of the speed.
100*100/125/125 is 0.64.
My crude calculations give.
- Class 801 train – 125 mph 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile
- Class 801 train – 100 mph 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile
- InterCity 125 – 125 mph 2.83 kWh per vehicle mile
- InterCity 125 – 100 mph 1.81 kWh per vehicle mile
- Class 222 train – 125 mph 4.83 kWh per vehicle mile
- Class 222 train – 100 mph 3.09 kWh per vehicle mile
I’d love to know the real values.
Conclusions
I know this was a rather rough and ready calculation, but I can draw two conclusions.
- Trains running at 125 mph seem to need between three and five kWh per vehicle mile.
- The forty year old InterCity 125 has an efficient energy use, even if the engines are working flat out to maintain full speed.
The only explanation for the latter is that Terry Miller and his team, got the aerodynamics, dynamics and structures of the InterCity 125 almost perfect. And this was all before computer-aided-design became commonplace.
In future for the energy use of a train running at 125 mph, I shall use a figure of three kWh per vehicle mile.
It is also probably a good starting point for a 100 mph train.
After all, if a forty-year-old diesel-electric train built from steel can achieve that figure, surely a modern electric train built from aluminium can do better!
East Midlands Parkway Station – 11th July 2019
I took these pictures at East Midlands Parkway station.
These are some of my thoughts.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station
The station is dominated by the coal-fired Ratcliffe-on-Spar power station, with its eight massive cooling towers.
When I was leaving Liverpool University in the late-1960s, I don’t think any of my fellow students thought coal had a future.
Several of my group of Electrical Engineers went into nuclear engineering, but many like me went into computing, electronics and instrumentation.
But still the Government ploughed on with mining coal and burning the filthy stuff to produce electricity.
Now the current government has decided, that they’ll all be gone by 2025!
And good riddance to them!
It has amazed me, they have survived this long.
I can remember reading in the Guardian in the 1980s of proposals by enlightened thinkers to retrain miners as insulation teams to insulate our terrible pre-war housing stock, which wastes vast amounts of energy.
But politicians of the left, including some who are still around today, glory in the honest toil of working in a coal mine.
I’m afraid, that I’ve met so many children of miners, whose major advice from their father, was to never go down a mine except as a tourist.
Burning coal, has been one of the worst cul-de-sacs of the human race.
An Inadequate Train Service
I have scarcely been to a station with such an inadequate train service.
Logic suggests, that it would have a service something like two or four trains per hour (tph) to major cities within half-an-hour.
But read what is said under Services in the Wikipedia entry for the station.
Here’s the first two paragraphs.
Fears were raised by various bodies, notably East Midlands Airport, about the service pattern proposed for the new station.
Donington Park motor racing circuit is nearby, and its owners have expressed their desire for spectators to use the station or coach services when travelling to the circuit. The owners are also in support of any future light rail transport to East Midlands Airport itself.
On my visit, I took a train from Leicester and then had to wait nearly an hour to get one back to where I started.
Abellio certainly have scope to improve the service.
In Leicester Station – 11th July 2019, I wrote that I felt that if Abellio apply similar logic to that which they are applying in East Anglia, that there could be a significant improvement in services on the Midland Main Line, to the North of Leicester.
- Three tph – Fast trains between Leicester and Sheffield via Derby and Chesterfield
- One tph – Stopping train between Leicester and Sheffield via Derby and Chesterfield
- Three tph – Fast trains between Leicester and Nottingham
- One tph – Stopping train between Leicester and Nottingham
- One tph – Stopping train between Leicester and Lincoln
As the new trains will have a better performance, more could stop at East Midlands Parkway to even out the terrible stopping pattern.
Station Usage
Wikipedia gives the station usage as just over 300,000 passengers per year.
This compares with Louthborough station, which is the next station to the South having a usage of 1,300,000 passengers per year.
Even the new Ilkeston station further North with only two platforms and of a much simpler design, had a usage of 250,000 passengers in its first year.
As this Google Map shows, the car parking has attracted a few takers.
I do question though, if the station should ever have been built!
I hope Abellio have a plan to breathe some life into the station.
Megabus
Note the Stagecoach Megabus in the pictures.
This provides services all over Yprkshire and is decribed under Multi-Modal in the Wikipedia entry for the station.
This is the first paragraph.
From 30 March 2009, the station has been used as an interchange station for combined multi-modal journeys using Megabus-branded services run by Stagecoach (the operators of both East Midlands Trains and of Megabus). The MegabusPlus services transport passengers from cities in the north of England to East Midlands Parkway, where passengers transfer to rail for the service to London.
At a first glance, it looks like a crazy idea.
But Stagecoach wouldn’t run it, if it wasn’t needed or profitable.
Charging Battery Electric Trains
In The Mathematics Of Fast-Charging Battery Trains Using Third-Rail Electrification, I showed how a third-rail-based fast charging sstem, like that proposed by Vivarail could transfer several hundred kWh to the batteries of a train stopped in the station, for a few minutes.
East Midlands Parkway station with pairs of tracks between generously-spaced platforms with a gap between the tracks, would be an ideal location for such a charging system.
- The two third-rail would be laid together between the two tracks.
- The third-rails could be shielded, but as they would only be live with a train on the top, would it be necessary?
- The driver would only need to stop the train in the correct position, but they do that anyway.
- An adequate electricity supply shouldn’t be too much of a problem!
In a three minute contact between the train and the third-rail, I believe it would be possible to transfer up to 200 kWh to the batteries of the train.
Conclusion
This station has problems.
I’ll be interested to see how Abellio attract more passengers and use the station to passengers and their own benefit.
Leicester Station – 11th July 2019
I took these pictures at Leicester station today.
These are a few of my thoughts.
Long Straight Platforms
The two main platforms for trains to and from London are long and straight and can easily accommodate the longest trains that do or will use the station.
Wide Spacious Platforms
The two island platforms are wide and spacious.
In my time at the station, I didn’t see any trains use the outer platforms and I do wonder if the station is used to the maximum capacity allowed by the layout.
The Station Could Have More Trains And Be A Better Interchange
When you arrive at Ipswich station on a fast train from London, one of the half-hourly services has an easy connection to either Bury St. Edmunds and Cambridge, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and/or Peterborough. and staff and information screens are there to speed you on your way.
Leicester station doesn’t seem to welcome you to continue your journey elsewhere
Abellio And Ipswich Station
Abellio with their new trains and timetable, will be increasing frequencies, so that Suffolk’s County Town with a population of 133,000, will have the following services.
- Two trains per hour (tph) to Bury St. Edmunds. – Doubled from current.
- One tph to Cambridge – A second hourly service will be available with a change at Ely.
- One tph to Felixstowe – Might be doubled, now thst the Felixstowe branch has more capacity.
- Three-four tph to London – Faster and up from two expresses and a stopping train per hour.
- One tph to Lowestoft – Better timetable and faster.
- Three tph to Norwich – Up from two tph
- One tph to Peterborough – Doubled from current one train per two hours.
The creation of the East-West Rail Link will see a doubling of the service to Cambridge and one train per two hours to Oxford.
Applying Abellio’s East Anglian Rules To Leicester
Leicester is a city and County Town, with a population of 330,000.
These appear to be the current services.
- Two tph to Birmingham
- One tph to Cambridge, Peterborough and Stansted Airport
- Two tph to Derby
- One tph to Lincoln – Stopping train via Loughborough and East Midlands Parkway.
- Four tph to London
- Two tph to Nottingham
- Two tph to Sheffield
Leicester doesn’t seem to have the sort of train service the City deserves.
This is the London, Ipswich and Norwich philosophy as proposed by Abellio and in the process of being delivered.
- New maximum-length and maximum-speed high-capacity Class 745 trains will provide more seats on the route.
- A fifty per-cent increase in train frequency from two tph to three tph.
- Four express services per day, only stopping at Ipswich, have been introduced, giving a ninety minute service between London and Norwich.
- Four trains per day between Lowestoft and London.
What would a similar philosophy for London Midland Main Line, look like at Leicester?
- Three tph to Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield.
- Six tph to London
- Three tph to Nottingham
- All trains would be maximum-length with a capacity at least similar to a 2+8 HST.
- Greater Anglia’s Class 745 trains will have 757 seats in two classes and a buffet. Expect a similar specification on the Midland Main Line.
- Services will be faster, with I suspect no trains taking longer than an hour from Leicester to London or Sheffield.
- Could there be a couple of non-stop trains every hour between London and Leicester?
This service would be a lot better and it only needs.
- An extra tph between London and Sheffield via Derby and Chesterfield
- An extra tph between London and Nottingham.
- Enough new maximum-length trains, which will probably be bi-mode trains, that are scheduled to arrive in 2022.
Four tph between London and Sheffield and London and Nottingham would surely be the ideal, but there just isn’t the capacity to the South of Kettering and in St. Pancras station.
So will we see extra services on the Midland Main Line to boost services North of Leicester?
- One tph between Leicester and Sheffield via Louthborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton, Derby and Chesterfield.
- One tph between Leicester and Sheffield via Louthborough, East Midlands Parkway, Ilkeston, Langley Mill, Alfreton and Chesterfield.
- One tph between Leicester and Nottingham via Louthborough, East Midlands Parkway and Beeston.
- The one tph Leicester to Lincoln service could also be included.
The services would be as follows.
- Trains would probably be shorter versions of the maximum-length bi-mode Midland Main Line trains.
- They would use the outer platforms at Leicester station to give cross-platform interchange with the frequent London trains.
- Services could possibly be extended past Sheffield to Leeds and past Nottinghm to Newark or Lincoln.
Leicester’s excellent platform design would see an increase in the number of trains and hopefully passengers.
Leicester And East-West Services
I also think, that there is sufficient capacity in Leicester station to add the following East-West services.
- Four tph to Birmingham
- Four tph to Cambridge
- Four tph to Peterborough
The following should be noted.
- Abellio has a substantial interest in all three stations and Leicester.
- The routes are often run by two-car Class 170 trains.
- The trains are often full.
- There is only short sections of lines that are electrified.
I believe that there should be the following service between Birmingham and Cambridge.
- Four tph
- At least four-car bi-mode trains.
- At least a 100 mph capability.
- Stops would include Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton, Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Stamford, Peterborough, March and Ely.
- At the Birmingham end, services could go via Birmingham International and Coventry.
- At the Cambridge end. perhaps two tph could be extended to Audley End and Stansted Airport.
- At Leicester there would be an easy interchange to London, the East Midlands and Sheffield.
- At Peterborough, there would be an easy interchange to London, Leeds, Newcastle and Scotland
It could be argued that if there is a need for a Cambridge and Oxford rail link, then Britain’s fastest growing high-technology hub, needs to have a high quality rail link to Birmingham via Leicester, Coventry and Birmingham International.
One overcrowded hourly two-car diesel train is not suitable for this important rail route.
Currently, trains take two hours forty-five minutes between Birmingham and Cambridge, which means with a fifteen minute turnround at either end, twenty-four trains would be needed for the service.
So it is probably not feasible, but I suspect it could be an aspiration for Abellio.
- I wouldn’t be surprised to see Abellio try to take over the Birmingham and Stansted Airport service from CrossCountry.
- Greater Anglia’s four-car Class 755 trains would double the capacity and be able to use electrification at both ends of the route.
- Greater Anglia have a few spare Class 755 trains, so is this takeover in their ambitions.
- Would the service be easier for Abellio to run, than CrossCountry?
This is a service to watch over the next couple of years.
Class 755 Trains In The East Midlands
I also suspect that Class 755 trains could be in Abellio’s plans for the East Midlands. Lincolnshire’s railways are little different to those of East Anglia.
The Bridges At The Southern End Of The Station
A trusted source told me, that one of the problems of electrifying through Leicester station with 25 KVAC overhead wires, is that the bridges at the Southern end of the station are a problem.
The general impression, I got was that the structure under the bridges is so complicated, that there would need to be a massive reconstruction of the railway.
To make matters worse a major sewer is in or under the bridges.
So if this meant that the railway had to be closed for a number of months, is this the reason for only electrifying as far as Market Harborough?
Surely, if the Midland Main Line is only to be partly-electrified, then Leicester would be a better changeover point.
Charging Battery Electric Trains
In The Mathematics Of Fast-Charging Battery Trains Using Third-Rail Electrification, I showed how a third-rail-based fast charging sstem, like that proposed by Vivarail could transfer several hundred kWh to the batteries of a train stopped in the station, for a few minutes.
Leicester station with the two tracks between widely-spaced platforms with a gap between the tracks, would be an ideal location for such a charging system.
- The two third-rail would be laid together between the two tracks.
- The third-rails could be shielded, but as they would only be live with a train on the top, would it be necessary?
- The driver would only need to stop the train in the correct position, but they do that anyway.
In a three minute contact between the train and the third-rail, I believe it would be possible to transfer up to 200 kWh to the batteries of the train.
Conclusion
Leicester station is a station, that suits the ambitions of the City.
But the unimaginative train service as provided by Stagecoach, is very fourth-rate and has left Abellio with a lot of scope to improve the train service throughout the East Midlands.
Stagecoach have only themselves to blame for losing the franchise.
The Mathematics Of Fast-Charging Battery Trains Using Third-Rail Electrification
In Vivarail Unveils Fast Charging System For Class 230 Battery Trains, I talked about how Vivarail are proposing to fast-charge their Class 230 trains.
- The trains are fitted with special high-capacity third rail shoes.
- Third-rail electrification is laid in stations.
- The third rail is powered by a bank of bstteries, that are trickle-charged from the mains or perhaps even solar power.
- When the train connects to the rail, the rail is made live and a fast transfer takes place between third-rail and train.
So how much electricity could be passed to a train during a stop?
The most powerful locomotive in the UK, that can use 750 VDC third-rail electrification is a Class 92 locomotive.
According to Wikipedia, it can produce a power output of 4 MW or 4,000 kW, when working on third-rail electrification.
This means, that in an hour, four thousand kWh will be transferred to the train using conventional third-rail electrification.
Or in a minute 66.7 kWh can be transferred.
In Vivarail’s system, because they are transferring energy between batteries, enormous currents can be passed.
To illustrate how batteries can can deliver enormous currents here’s a video of a guy using two car batteries to weld things together.
These currents are possible because batteries have a low impedance and when the battery on the train is connected to the battery bank on the station, the two batteries will equalise their power.
If we take the example of the Class 92 locomotive and conventional electrification, this would be able to transfer 200 kWh in three minutes or 400 kWh in six minutes.
But I believe that battery-to-battery transfers could be at a much higher current
Thus in a typical one or two minute stop in a station, upwards of 200 kWh could be transferred to the train.
On this page of their web-site, Vivarail say this.
Due to the high currents required for the train Vivarail uses a carbon ceramic shoe able to withstand the heat generated in the process – without this shoe the charge time would make operational running unfeasible.
The devil is always in the details! From what I’ve seen and heard about the company, that would fit!
Market Harborough Station – 11th July 2019
Compare these pictures taken today, with those in Market Harborough Station – 10th May 2019.
In the intervening two months, there have been major changes at Market Harborough station.
Two Shorter Curved Platforms Have Been Replaced
The two shorter curved platforms have been replaced by two long straight platforms.
- They can handle the longest trains likely to stop in the station.
- As they are straight, it is likely that there will be a smaller gap to mind, between platform and train.
- The platforms and the tracks have been moved to the West by several metres.
- The platforms are now furnished to a high standard, with shelters and information screens.
The new platforms and tracks are a great improvement for passengers, staff and train operators.
But they also mean.
- Trains that stop at the station, can perform faster stops, as the better train-platform interface speeds passengers entering or leaving the train.
- Passing trains can benefit from a higher speed limit through the station.
This should mean a faster journey time along the Midland Main Line.
The Land Released Will Be Used To Extend The Car Park
Several hundred new car parking spaces will be provided on the Eastern side of the line, in the land released by moving the platforms and tracks.
There Is A Fully Working Step-Free Bridge
The new step-free bridge is now fully working.
- The steps are wide enough for bi-directional traffic.
- There are lifts on both sides.
It is asymmetric, with the steps probably leading in the direction most passengers will be walking to and from.
- On the Eastern London-bound platform, passengers will be walking to and from the car park.
- On the Western Leicester-bound platform, passengers will be walking to and from the main station building with the exit to the town, the ticket office and the cafe.
The bridge will certainly handle commuters to London or Leicester, who drive to the station and have to cross the tracks before or after one journey.
It will also handle commuters, who walk or cycle from the town centre.
This bridge has been placed by someone, who knows what they’re doing!
There Are A Pair Of Crossovers To The North Of the Station
I don’t know whether these are new, but they certainly will give operational advantages, if for instance, a train should fail in Market Harbprough station.
As it is likely, that the Midland Main Line will be electrified as far North as Market Harborough station, could they be used for other purposes?
125 mph electric services could be run between London and Market Harborough.
- The two crossovers would easy turnback of the trains or the building of a stabling siding, North of the station.
- Trains would probably take under an hour.
- They could stop at intermediate stations like Luton Airport Parkway Luton, Bedford and Wellingborough.
- Market Harborough station has a lot of parking.
- It could be a second electric service into St. Pancras.
It could be a useful complimentary service or an alternative one whilst planned major regeneration work is ongoing at Leicester station.
Market Harborough Station Has A Bigger Capacity
Consider.
- The longer platforms will allow longer trains with more seats to call at the station.
- The shorter dwell times at the station of stopping trains will allow more trains to stop in the station every hour.
- The step-free bridge is additional capacity for crossing the tracks.
- There will be a massive increase in car parking.
It looks to me that the station has been upgraded to fulfil a need for more trains.
These figures show the population and passenger numbers at stations around Market Harborough.
- Corby – 70,800 – 300,000 – 4.24
- Kettering – 56,200 – 1,070,000 – 19
- Market Harborough – 22,900 – 900,000 – 39.3
- Wellingborough -49,100 – 1,015,000 – 20.7
The last figure was obtained by dividing the number of journeys by the population.
Does Market Harborough’s high figure mean that there is a high demand for travellers living around Market Hsrborough and the large amount of extra car parking will be well-used.
Note.
- I travelled to Market Harborough with a lady and her two young children, who wee actually going to Leicester and were being picked up by family at the earlier station due to all the traffic problems around Leicester station.
- There used to be four stations between Market Harborough and Leicester, but all closed in 1968.
- There used to be two stations between Market Harborough and Kettering, but all closed in the 1960s.
- Market Harborough is well-connected by roads.
So is Market Harborough station used by locals as a Leicester South station?
As an aside, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new parkway station developed in conjunction with a large housing development, built between Kettering and Leicester, at some point in the future..
Future Electrification
There is a section entitle Electrification in the Wikipedia entry for the Midland Main Line.
This is the last paragraph.
On 26 February 2019 Andrew Jones, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, announced that electrification would be extended northwards from Kettering to Market Harborough, enabling the connection of the railway to a new power supply point at Braybrooke.
I will assume that this means, that electric trains will be able to run to Market Harborough station.
As I said earlier, there are a pair of crossovers to the North of the station, which could be useful for turning trains or giving easy access to a couple of stabling sidings.
Hopefully, electrifying the station will not be difficult, as it has only recently been built and foundations for the electrification gantries have either been built or surveyed thoroughly.
Battery Trains Through Market Harborough Station
One thing that won’t be needed at Market Harborough station is a charging station for battery-electric trains, as this will be handled by the electrification.
Bi-mode and battery-electric trains would either raise or lower the pantograph at speed or at a stop in the station.
The operation of a battery-electric train going North could be interesting.
If it wasn’t scheduled to stop in the station, the train would go through Market Harborough station, with maximum charge in the onboard storage, after being charged by the overhead electrification, on the way up from London. The train would also run through the station, at the highest possible speed, as allowed by the track, so that the train had the highest possible kinetic energy.
Electrification to Market Harborough will act like a catapult to send trains North at their maximum kinetic energy and they could probably glide all the way to Leicester station using little of their energy stored in the onboard battery.
The electrification would probably go a short way North of Market Harborough station, so that sropping trains could be accelerated to full speed using the electrification.
There Is Still Work To Be Done
Work to be done appears to include.
- Refurbishing the original subway to give access between the London-bound platform and the station building.
- Finishing the shelters and other platform furnishings.
- Landscape the car-park and create ramped access to the London-bound platform.
A notice said the subway would reopen in December 2019.
Conclusion
Market Harborough now has a much higher capacity modern station.
An Unnecessary Diesel-Hauled Train
I took these picture at Blackhorse Road station this morning.
This train from Moss End to Dagenham Dock is pathed to be electric-hauled. So why was it hauled by a noisy and polluting Class 66 locomotive?
The Anonymous Widower 